I am on my own this morning for this short jaunt to Bamburgh. Damian has gone ahead with the car, intending to take a look around the Armstrong Aviation Artefacts Museum in the castle. I set off down towards the beach.

There a few people out walking and I ask a young woman who looks local whether there is anything to stop me walking all the way to Bamburgh along the beach – “nothing at all” she replies, “a few slippery rocks but nothing to worry about.”

At one point the wide strip of sand narrows and rocks appear but nothing to halt my progress. Out to sea is the blurred outline of one of the islands that make up the Farne Island archipelago.

And soon the sand disappears for a while and I tread carefully over the slippery rocks.

Back on sand again I can soon see the outline of the castle up ahead.-

Once inside, I take a look around before meeting up with Damian – it is such a wonderful setting for a castle – looking down on this magnificent beach.

The stable wall is adorned with a full size glass sculpture of a galloping horse.

Damian and I meet for coffee. He tells me that one of the exhibits in the museum is the wreckage of a Spitfire. My mother’s cousin (no longer with us) used to fly a Spitfire, which was something we both had to keep reminding ourselves of, on an alarming journey from Toronto airport to his home. Weaving shakily between lanes he kept up a constant stream of conversation, frequently turning his head to look at us as we tried our best not to appear anxious. Bless.

So, it’s now goodbye to Northumberland for a while as we head for Scotland. some of Damian’s American relatives are visiting the family and we’ve booked a BnB just outside Edinburgh.

And what a place! Surrounded by lawns and woodlands, this country mansion definitely needs a lot of TLC but the interiors are very Downtown Abbey. It’s reasonably priced and mostly used for weddings and other events.

We settle in – no more walking now for a couple of days.

Distance: 3 miles